Marcelo Bielsa had a question. The new Leeds manager wanted to find out how hard the average supporter had to work to pay for a ticket to watch the team. How many hours did he or she have to put in? It was unclear what kind of calculations went into the answer but one was provided. It would be about three.
So the Argentinian called his players together and he told them that, for the next three hours, they would be picking up litter from around the club’s Thorp Arch training ground. He wanted them to learn a lesson; to appreciate how the fans labored to fulfil their passion.
It was classic Bielsa on many levels, taking in his empathy for the worker, his fixation with discipline and team spirit and, above all, the quirkiness and unpredictability that has led to the “El Loco” nickname. The 63-year-old is not crazy. It is just that his obsessive nature, ferocious intensity, eccentricities and refusal to adhere to convention can make him seem that way.
When Bielsa strode into Leeds on 15 June to replace Paul Heckingbottom, it quickly became clear the club would never be the same again. The stories of Bielsa’s attention to detail are already legendary. He runs his forefinger across various surfaces at Thorp Arch to check for dust, invariably being appalled at what he finds, while he once inquired why there was a bootprint on a wall – about half a yard from the floor.
It was explained to him that, perhaps, it was the result of somebody leaning back against it, with his or her foot up. “That shows the person is not concentrated on their work! Unacceptable!” Bielsa exclaimed. Leeds have had and do have bigger problems than the odd dirty mark but this is Bielsa, the perfectionist, and this is how he intends to drag the club up by their bootlaces: little bit by little bit.
Leeds are often described as the deepest sleeping of England’s giants and their travails since relegation from the Premier League in 2004 are well-documented. The club have tried many things and gone through many managers yet the roll of the dice on Bielsa is arguably the most intriguing and exciting.
This, after all, is a former Argentina manager; a man who became a hero in Chile for his work with the national team; and somebody so revered at Newell’s Old Boys, his local club in Rosario and the first one he managed, 28 years ago, that they have named the stadium after him.
Bielsa has also taken charge of clubs in Mexico, Spain, France and Italy – although only briefly in the last of these. He walked out on Lazio after two days in 2016 because, to his mind, things were not right and he could feel it straight away. The drama somehow added a further layer to his maverick legend. The year before, he quit Marseille after the first game of his second season.
Bielsa is a mentor to some of the game’s leading managers, chiefly Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone and Mauricio Pochettino, whom he took to Newell’s as a promising 14‑year‑old defender and set on the path to an international career.
It was the idea of Victor Orta, the Leeds director of football, to consider Bielsa, and Andrea Radrizzani, the club’s owner, saw the merit in it; the intrinsic sense of boldness. Bielsa’s CV spoke for itself, as did his commitment to attacking football. He was also available, his previous job at Lille having ended quickly and badly in December 2017.
Bielsa was the No 1 candidate. After what amounted to a job interview in Buenos Aires with the managing director, Angus Kinnear, and Orta, he became the only candidate. Kinnear and Orta had wanted to know how well he knew the Championship. Bielsa delved into his copious notes and began his response by detailing the respective teams in formation from last season’s Burton v Bolton game.
Then, he went through every formation Burton and Bolton had used throughout the season and, after that, he did likewise for every other club in the division. Bielsa could say, for example, how many times a team had played 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or 3-5-2. He had even calculated the probability for one formation to beat another. The story of how Kinnear and Orta reacted has gone around Elland Road. They are said to have looked at each other, shrugged and agreed it was a pretty good answer.
Leeds had a final obstacle to clear regarding a work permit because Bielsa had not worked often enough over the past few years. He needed to go down the FA’s exceptional talent route but he would receive exceptional backing, with Pochettino – following a request from Leeds to Tottenham – only too happy to write a letter of support.
Bielsa went before the FA’s expert panelists – the Portsmouth manager, Kenny Jackett, and the former Blackburn and England winger Stuart Ripley – and it is fair to say the outcome was not in doubt. Unlike Bielsa, neither Jackett nor Ripley has managed at a World Cup. Bielsa has brought eight members of staff with him to Elland Road and the club are paying them a collective £3m a year after tax.
Bielsa has made a typically radical impression. Previously, the first team and academy players shared the same areas at Thorp Arch but no more. Having studied the architectural drawings, Bielsa demanded the first team be granted their own private space and that a dormitory and games room be created for them.
He has stressed the training ground is a place of work and the players are there to work all day. They are in at 9 am and stay until seven or eight in the evening – quite a departure from the lunchtime finishes of old. The training is grueling, mentally and physically, with an emphasis on one-on-one coaching. They will break for lunch and a siesta at the new sleeping quarters.
Bielsa has had a bed installed in his office. The amount of time he spends within its four walls, poring over videos, is remarkable. His approach to match preparation – and everything else – pushes the boundaries of total immersion.
Leeds’s appointment of Bielsa has had the feel of a coup. The reality of the club’s situation, with recently relegated rivals still receiving parachute payments and the financial fair play rules hemming United in, means they have needed to seek a creative solution.
Bielsa is it. The hierarchy believe he offers a competitive advantage in terms of knowledge, experience and patented tactical approach, which is characterized by a three‑man defense, extreme width, aggressive pressing, risk-taking, constant movement and relentless physical effort. The statistics show the players ran more, on average, across their six pre-season games than they did in league matches last season.
The Bielsa factor, along with his contacts, was also intended to help with transfers and there has been evidence it has been the case. Guardiola suggested Bielsa take the England Under-21 winger Jack Harrison on loan from Manchester City, which he did, while the Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker, who was chased by several clubs, took a significant pay cut to join on loan because he wanted to play for Bielsa.
The anticipation has built around Sunday’s opener at home to Stoke but it is undercut by a number of concerns. Can the players cope with Bielsa’s demands over 46 games? Will he adapt to the Championship? Are his best and most innovative days behind him? Will there be conflict, which has been a theme of his career?
It feels as though this could go very well or very badly. Then again, Leeds is not a place for the middle ground.
(The Guardian)
